Chapter Twenty-Nine
Maddox
”Your family is so creative,” Cami said on Thanksgiving evening. We”d all gathered at our grandparents” house.
Gran had absolutely refused to have Thanksgiving catered, and their kitchen wasn”t large enough for all of us, so Jake came up with another brilliant idea. Only the turkey had been cooked here, and everyone else brought a side dish. Gran seemed happy with the solution, although she was suspiciously inspecting everything that was put on the table.
It smelled insanely good. There were so many delicious smells wafting through the air that I couldn”t even tell one from the other. Cami and I had baked apple pies. Well, she’d baked while I followed her strict instructions. I was no slouch when it came to cooking main courses, but baking wasn”t my area of expertise. We made everything in her tiny kitchen. I had to admit, Essex was growing on me. I liked spending time with Cami, and we were more often in her tiny cabin than at my house.
”Gran, relax,” Leo said, putting a hand on her shoulder. ”I promise no one is going to starve.”
She looked up at Leo and then the room as a whole. ”Oh God, no. I wasn”t implying that I didn”t think the food was good.” She cleared her throat before adding, ”I actually wanted to thank everyone for all the effort you put in.”
”Hear, hear,” Granddad said, coming up next to her.
”I know I”m very stubborn. I don”t always make your lives easier.”
”Hey, we can”t be mad at you because of that. It”s a gene you”ve passed down to us, so ”Hello, Pot, we”re Kettle.” We’re not judging,” Nick said.
Gran beamed. Their living room was large, but I had to admit, it was a bit cramped right now with so many people here. Except for Leo and Nick, everyone had come with their better half.
Ben had started crawling, and the dude was much faster than I would have imagined. Spencer and Penny were exhausted from chasing after him, so Cami and I had offered to take over for a bit to give them a break. It turned out we didn”t have enough practice, and I swear to God, if I took my eyes off him for two seconds, he was already halfway across the room.
”Samuel, thank you for coming too,” Gran said to Cami’s dad.
”Thank you for having me,” he replied. He”d spoken with Granddad when we’d arrived, but now Colton had cornered him in conversation too.
”All right. Well, before we dig in,” Granddad said, ”I say we toast being together.”
Cade popped open a bottle and started pouring champagne. Once we all had a glass in hand, Granddad continued, “To friends, family, and success.”
Gran snuck in, “And to more grandchildren.”
Everyone laughed, and then Samuel raised his glass.
”And to finalizing the sale,” he added.
As we all clinked glasses, I looked straight at Cami, who smiled from ear to ear.
Fuck yes.She was happy, plain and simple. There was no sign of her regretting it or even feeling uneasy about the sale. I never would have gone through with it if that were the case. Cami had become damn important to me, and I”d never do anything that would make her unhappy.
She was currently crouched next to Ben until Spencer went over to them, taking his son in his arms.
”He”s going to start fussing soon,” Spencer informed us.
Natalie winked at me when Cami wasn’t looking. Yeah, she”d called it.
”Hey, what’s going on? You”re having a silent conversation,” Cami said, pointing between me and Natalie. ”What”s it about?”
Crap, I thought she wasn’t looking.
”No, no. Don”t start that,” Leo said.
Cami frowned. ”You knew what they were silently talking about?”
Nick nodded. ”Yeah, we both do. That”s a skill you pick up in the family after some time. Helps you not just survive but thrive.”
”I”m very confused,” Cami said.
”See, we have to explain,” Natalie said. She looked like she was fighting laughter. ”When Maddox first said Jeannie was going to Essex, I warned him that she had matchmaking on her mind again, and I was right.”
Leo and Nick both grinned, and Gran started to laugh. ”Natalie, you were my very first. Of course you’d recognize the signs. Although, I thought I’d become subtler since then.”
”You have,” Leo said as if he was analyzing business skills. ”But we”re very good at reading you, Gran.”
“But don”t worry, my dears,” Gran said, looking straight at Nick and Leo. ”I”ll be incredibly subtle when it comes to each of you so that you won”t even be able to tell.”
”Yeah, see, that”s exactly what we are worrying about,” Nick said.
Leo just shook his head. ”Gran, what even gave you the idea that we want to walk in our brothers” footsteps?”
“None of us did. And yet look at us.” I kissed the side of Cami”s hand, pulling her closer to me. I couldn”t get enough of her: her smile, her perfume, feeling her against me. I loved having her here with my family. I”d never known that life could feel this way.
Leo and Nick looked at me as if I was a traitor.
”I can see we”re not going to win this battle,” Nick said.
”It isn”t a battle, though,” Leo pointed out.
”It”s just a difference of opinion,” Gran interjected.
”Oh.” Leo narrowed his eyes. ”All right, you know what? Let”s not spend the entire Thanksgiving dinner talking about this.”
His phone beeped. He looked at it and then glanced at me and Nick. That was our signal that Mom was calling.
”Right,” he said to the table. ”I need to take this. It”s Mom. I”ll be right back.”
There was a small ripple around the table. Colton and Jake looked at their glasses with sudden interest but didn”t say anything.
This was never going to get easier. Families came in different shapes and sizes, but ours was patched together.
Gran sat down at the table as Nick went after Leo.
I had an idea and looked at Cami. ”What do you say we go talk to my mom together after my brothers finish?”
She beamed. ”Really? I”d love that.”
”Okay, then. Come on. Let”s follow them.”
Leo passed us as we went to the kitchen, which meant Nick was already talking to Mom. He was pacing the kitchen, laughing. Noticing us, he grinned, snapping his fingers.
”Mom, I”ve got a big surprise for you.” He held the phone out and turned the camera from himself onto us.
”Hey, Mom,” I said and waved. Cami followed my lead.
”All right, it”s your turn,” Nick said. As he handed me the phone, he said, ”Please take her mind off me and Leo possibly showing up with dates at the next Thanksgiving. I swear, Gran is sending her the wrong vibes.”
”I heard you,” Mom said.
I chuckled. ”Mom, this is Cami.”
”Hi, dear,” she said.
Cami melted against me. ”Hi.”
”I”m so happy that you”re there with my son and the family for Thanksgiving. And I”m happy to finally meet you even if just virtually.”
”Where are you?” Cami asked. ”Indonesia, right?”
”No. I decided to move on to Sri Lanka last week. It is amazing. I cooked a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner, but I”m not big on these sorts of traditions. I’m not a fan of turkey.” Mom smiled brilliantly. I”d actually never seen her this happy. ”Happy Thanksgiving, you two. And congratulations on the sale. I hear it”s finalized.”
”Yes, it is.” Cami said. ”Your son was very good at wearing me down.”
Mom laughed. ”Oh, that”s my Maddox. All right, I won”t keep you two.”
”Have fun, Mom,” I said. ”And let me know when you plan on coming back to the States.”
”Sure, darling. Thank you.”
After hanging up, I put my brother”s phone in my back pocket and turned to look at Cami. To my astonishment, her eyes were glassy.
”Babe, what”s wrong?” I asked, cupping her face.
She sighed. ”Talking to your mom kind of reminded me of mine. I miss her more around holidays.”
I kissed her temple, inhaling the scent of her strawberry shampoo. Even though there were so many food smells mingling in the air, I could pick hers out quite easily.
”Is today overwhelming for you?” I hadn”t considered this.
”A bit, but in the best way.” Then she pulled back, placing both hands on my shoulders. ”It feels so wonderful to celebrate together with family.”
”I”m glad you think that. I enjoy it, but I”m looking forward to going back to Essex with you.”
”Hmm, it is growing on you, isn”t it? Mr. ”I don”t like small towns.””
I swallowed hard. ”You”re in Essex. That’s a big draw.”
”Don”t pretend like you don”t actually enjoy it.”
”Fine, I admit it. I”m as surprised as anyone. It”s...”
”Cozy,” she put in.
”Exactly.” And I did like that it was close to Boston.
”Right. So you”re driving me and Dad back?”
I wiggled my eyebrows. ”Why do you think I insisted on you not taking your own car?”
”Hmm... so I’d have no other choice but to invite you to stay with me. Uh-huh, what a hardship.”
I kissed the side of her neck, but laughter filtered in from the living room.
”Let”s go back,” she said.
”I just want a few more minutes with you.” I wrapped my arms around her waist.
“I love this day. Now that I know you plan to stay with me tonight, it just got so much better. Then on Monday, I have to hit the ground running with the permits and such.”
I pulled back and tilted her chin up. ”I can take care of all of that. You don’t even have to see Bill again.”
”I don”t actually have to see him. He signs the permits, but I just make appointments with the assistants. I think in all my years I”ve had to deal with the town council, I”ve never actually run into him at the office.”
“My offer stands. Just say the word, and I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.”
”All right, then. Let”s go back,” I said, taking her hand and leading her back to the living room. I handed the phone to Leo. Before we all sat down, I noticed Jake and Colton were laughing.
”What have we missed?” I asked.
”Nothing. We”re still the main topic of conversation,” Leo said in a resigned tone.
”Yeah, maybe you want to shift the focus off us?” Nick asked, a hopeful note in his voice.
I was a bastard. I wanted to squash it for no reason at all just because I liked to see their asses being roasted.
”No, not at all,” I said.
The whole table burst out laughing.
”Well, at least that”s settled,” Nick said. ”This Thanksgiving, it”s all about us.”